Abolition of Class 2 NICs – draft legislation
09 November 2017
Following the government announcement that the abolition of Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NICs) has been delayed to 6 April 2019, draft legislation has been updated.
On 2 November 2017 the government announced a one year delay to the abolition of Class 2 NICs. Class 2 NICs will now be abolished from 6 April 2019 rather than 6 April 2018. The delay is to allow time for the government to engage with interested parties and Parliamentarians with concerns relating to the impact of the abolition of Class 2 NICs on self-employed individuals with low profits.
An updated tax information and impact note (TIIN) has also been published which advises that Class 2 contributions will be abolished and Class 4 contributions restructured to include a new threshold.
Background
Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NICs) are flat-rate weekly contributions paid by the self-employed to gain access to contributory benefits.
The 2016 autumn statement confirmed the government’s intention to abolish Class 2 NICs. This means that instead of paying 2 classes of NICs (Class 2 and Class 4), the self-employed will pay just one class of NICs (Class 4) in the future.
This builds on recommendations of the Office of Tax Simplification and will simplify the NICs system for millions of self-employed people.